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William Melhado was an Austin-based general assignment reporter until 2024. He originally joined the Tribune in 2022 as a Poynter-Koch fellow. Before his time at the Tribune, William worked as a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, an alt-weekly newspaper in New Mexico, and he also worked as an educator for five years at a public high school in the Bronx, New York and at international schools in Tanzania and Nepal. A native of Boulder, Colorado, William graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and earned a master’s in secondary science education at CUNY Lehman College.
Texas doctors fear a new era of government intrusion into medicine as lawmakers ban transition care for kids following prohibitions on abortion. Full Story
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The families argue the new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, violates their parental rights by stopping them from providing medical care for their children and discriminates against transgender teens. Full Story
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The state police agency had been withholding nearly all of its records on law enforcement’s botched response to Texas’ deadliest school shooting. DPS will have an opportunity to redact the files before they are released. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for major civil rights victories for queer Americans in the 2003 decision that decriminalized homosexuality. But progress for LGBTQ+ people has been uneven. Full Story
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Texas Department of Public Safety officers were criticized for the disparate number of Latino and Black residents arrested during the first iteration of a partnership to help Austin with policing duties. Full Story
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Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton faces charges of bribery and obstruction of justice in his upcoming impeachment trial before the Texas Senate. Full Story
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The governor says other issues aren’t as important as breaking a House-Senate stalemate over the best course on reducing property taxes. Full Story
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State law that limits transgender student athletes’ participation in sports runs afoul of the updated federal civil rights law, which was expanded to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ students, potentially putting Texas schools at risk of losing federal funding. Full Story
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With only three days left on the state’s lease, the agency unanimously voted to condemn almost 5,000 acres in Freestone County in an effort to keep the park open to the public after developers purchased the property to build a gated community. Full Story
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It is not immediately clear what Paul was charged with, but Travis County officials confirmed he was being held in the jail at the request of the FBI. Paxton’s deputies accused Paul of bribing the now-suspended attorney general in 2020. Full Story
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